Real and Enduring Freedom

We can all become heroes.

The ballroom of Jerusalem's Plaza Hotel was filled with 250 well-dressed young Americans, Englishmen, South Africans, and Australians. The occasion was the 20th anniversary of one of Israel's institutions that teach a sophisticated level of Judaism to adult Jews. The attendees were all college graduates and professional people who had become observant and had relocated in Israel.

The guest speaker, Minister of Immigrant Absorption Yuli Edelstein, was shifting uncomfortably in his seat. As he surveyed the crowd, all of whom had moved to Israel from affluent English-speaking countries, he wondered what he would say to them. He himself had made aliyah from Russia, after years as a refusenik and three and a half years doing hard labor in the Gulag. What could he say to these spoiled Americans? When he finally did rise to speak, however, he surprised even himself.

Mr. Edelstein began by admitting his qualms in addressing a crowd whose background was not fraught with the hardships he had faced. He told how when he was first imprisoned by the K.G.B., he did not have with him his tefillin (the black leather boxes containing scriptural verses which the Torah bids men to bind on their arm and their head every day). His wife brought his tefillin to the prison every morning, but the K.G.B. refused to give them to him. When his official interrogation began, Yuli refused to talk. He explained to his K.G.B. interrogators that he could not speak because he had not recited his morning prayers properly because he did not have his tefillin. Within an hour, his tefillin were brought to his cell.

On the day the investigation ended, a group of K.G.B. thugs came to Yuli's cell, ransacked the place, and found his tefillin. While two men held him, a third broke apart his tefillin, tearing the sacred parchment scrolls to shreds in front of his anguished face.

"How could I not come to Israel?" Mr. Edelstein asked us in an impassioned tone. "They tore up my tefillin! I had no choice to stay in such a country. But you," he said looking directly at our rapt faces, "none of you had to make aliyah. You chose to leave countries where you were free. Nobody tore up your tefillin. Yet, you chose to make aliyah. You are much greater than I am. I consider it a privilege to be in your presence."

REAL FREEDOM

According to Judaism, human beings have free choice, but only in a circumscribed area. Our only real freedom is in making moral choices. Every human being has a unique "choice box"— a specific area of moral choice where he or she could truly go either way. This is the total locus of our freedom.

Most of us will not be rewarded for our assiduous obedience to the mitzvah "Do not murder."

Most likely, the decision to murder or not to murder is not a viable choice for anyone reading this article. Although the commandment, "Do not murder," is one of the Ten Commandments, when we stand at the threshold of the next world, most of us will not be rewarded for our assiduous obedience to this mitzvah. Given the society in which we were raised and the parents who trained us in basic values, murder is not a real option for us, even when someone cuts us off in traffic. In not murdering, we are not exercising free choice.

At the other end of the moral spectrum, few of us are on the exalted level of altruism where we would donate our entire life savings to pay for a life-saving operation for a child we don't know. Nor would most of us seriously entertain the option of donating a kidney to a stranger. Such decisions are above our "choice box." They are not viable courses of action, given who we are today.

In exercising the moral choices within one's unique "choice box," a person fulfills the very purpose for which he or she has come into this world: to change and grow.

This is what the sages mean when they say that at the end of life, we will be judged only according to our choices. A person born with an altruistic nature, raised in a family where doing for others was the norm, will not be rewarded for volunteering weekly at the local hospital. "Doing what comes naturally," to the extent that it means maintaining one's spiritual status quo, is a cop-out on one's life mission. We are here to struggle and stretch ourselves and become more than what we started as. All true choice implies struggle.

Recently a friend of ours, an elderly widow, lost her only brother. She wanted to sit shiva in our neighborhood in Jerusalem's Old City, where all her friends live, and inquired about renting an apartment here. My husband and I immediately decided to invite her to sit shiva in our home. To us it was unthinkable that she should sit shiva alone and have to pay rent for it. Our response was immediate and automatic, a product of the kind of homes we came from — where hospitality and helping others was a prime value — and the compassion we had learned through fifty plus years of life experience. Our decision to invite our elderly, bereaved friend was an instinctive expression of who we were. It was no longer a matter of free choice.

It is not how good we are, but how good we have become, that is the measure of the person.

For our teenage daughter, on the other hand, the question of whether to invite this elderly woman was complex and challenging. She was the one who would have to share her bedroom and her bathroom. With a teenage girl's sense of privacy, she did not particularly like the stream of guests who had so recently shared her room over the holidays. Even less did she like elderly people who ask what she feels are prying questions. My daughter sat there across the kitchen table from me struggling between her aversion to sharing her room with this woman and her attraction to doing a mitzvah of kindness. That's what the process of free choice looks like.

It is not how good we are, but how good we have become, that is the measure of the person. Moral upward mobility is our only expression of true freedom.

THE TOWER WENT DOWN, BUT THE PERSON WENT UP

The day after the collapse of the World Trade Center, the New York Times reported the story of a woman who could walk only with the aid of crutches who worked on the 64th floor of Tower 2. Fellow employees tried to carry her down the stairs. "They had me over their shoulder for 5 or 10 flights and just couldn't do it."

"Another co-worker she knew only as Louis came upon the struggling group, lifted the woman to his shoulder and carried her by himself, she said, adding that the temperature in the stairwell was at least 90 degrees."

Louis carried this woman down 54 flights of stairs, and did not leave her until she was safely inside an ambulance.

Somewhere in the smoky stairwell of the World Trade Center, Louis chose to save this woman at whatever cost to himself.

The Louis who fled from his office on the 64th floor was not the same man who emerged from the building. Somewhere between the 54th and the ground floor, Louis exercised his free choice and chose good. It may not have happened on the landing of the 54th floor when he picked up the woman and hoisted her over his shoulder. At that point, he may have been acting from an innately altruistic and heroic nature. He may have been constitutionally incapable of ignoring the incapacitated woman without at least trying to help her.

But somewhere in the smoky stairwell of the World Trade Center, when his muscles started to hurt, and the heat got to him, and the weight on his shoulder slowed him down more and more, and hundreds of panicked people pushed past him fleeing for their lives, somewhere—perhaps on the landing of the 34th floor or the 24th floor—instinct gave way to choice, and Louis chose to save this woman at whatever cost to himself.

The Times article related that around the 15th floor a rescue worker told Louis that the woman was out of danger, and suggested he leave her there and evacuate the building by himself. One of Louis's inner voices must have echoed the proposal: "Surely I've already done enough. No one else would have done half of what I did to save her. Even a professional fireman says it's good enough." Louis chose to heed the other voice which said: "She's not safe until she's in a vehicle which can take her away from here."

The Louis who had arrived for work that morning was a man with the potential for greatness. The Louis who emerged, sweating and aching, from the World Trade Center was a great man. Only moral choices make us into the persons we can become.

CHOOSING UP

We are living through difficult and fearsome times, times which confront us with greater challenges and more opportunities to choose. Each one of us has the freedom to choose good. Our choices need not be on the scale of newsworthy deeds. Choosing beyond our comfort zone is intrinsically heroic. Stretching ourselves beyond who we are at this moment necessarily makes us bigger.

Choosing beyond our comfort zone is intrinsically heroic.

If you are a person who has no affinity with elderly relatives, right now call your great aunt who lives alone. She's probably more frightened than you are by F.B.I. warnings of imminent terror attacks.

If you are a person who has been nursing a grudge against friends or relatives who treated you badly, right now forgive them. When life is uncertain, who can afford to take chances with what might be a last chance?

If you are a person who is too busy to invest time in old friendships, break out of your character mold and right now write a letter to an old friend. When letters are carrying deadly Anthrax spores, why not send letters full of love and concern?

If you are a person who tends to give more attention to building your capital than building your family, right now make a daring reversal of your priorities. When the economy is shaky, your only real assets are the people who love you.

If you are a Jew who has dallied with the idea of mitzvah observance, but never had enough time, knowledge, or inclination to make it happen, right now commit yourself to practicing one mitzvah — whether it's eating kosher, learning Torah for fifteen minutes a day, or keeping one Shabbat a month. Every mitzvah forges a bond between you and the only eternal, immutable, omnipotent Reality in this frenetic world.

In the Torah, God tells us: "I have put before you today life and good, death and evil. Choose life."

Choosing good is our only real and enduring freedom.

Sara Yoheved Rigler’s all-encompassing online marriage program, “Choose Connection: How to Revive and Rejuvenate Your Marriage” is available to Aish.com readers at a special price. Click here for more info: http://www.jewishworkshops.com/webinars/connection/

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About the Author

Sara Yoheved Rigler is a popular international lecturer on subjects of Jewish spirituality. She has given lectures and workshops in Israel, England, France, South Africa, Mexico, Canada, Chile, Panama, and over 35 American cities. She is one of the most popular authors on Aish.com, world’s biggest Judaism website, and is a columnist for Ami Magazine. Sara Yoheved Rigler is the author of five best-sellers: Holy Woman; Lights from Jerusalem; Battle Plans: How to Fight the Yetzer Hara (with Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller); G-d Winked; and Heavenprints . She gives a weekly Marriage Webinar for Jewish Workshops on a spiritual approach to marriage, with hundreds of members throughout the world. She lives in the Old City of Jerusalem. Her newest book, Emunah with Love and Chicken Soup, the story of Henny Machlis, the Brooklyn-born girl who became a Jerusalem legend, was was released in November, 2016. Her website is: sararigler.com.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 25

(25)
Rafael,
November 15, 2014 6:40 PM

Freedom is a culturally perceived dilution

To begin adhering to mitzvahs is to lock into a set of rules. You must convince yourself these new rules are not rules but a new found freedom and enlightenment . This is how the redneck Christians perceive their freedoms have been taken away by Jews , Blacks and even other secular Christians. This is how radical Muslims perceives their fight for freedom and the restoration of the world for Allah . This is how Zionist Kaballist see themselves as missionaries for freedom headed by a centralized world government in Jerusalem. Freedom has strong ties to economics. The more financial power you have , the more you can impose your brand of freedom on someone or some population. For me as a middle class person , higher levels of freedom are better achieved by restrictions. When religious freedoms are protected for all denominations... Then I have my personal freedom. When restrictions are put on corporate cowboys and venture capitalist... I am better protected. Health, education, jobs and secure retirement are government responsibilities to its people... Otherwise you should not vote or there is no need for government to be elected by its citizens. The less freedom you have , the more room you give for someone else to live . This is morality in direct contradiction to freedom. We share a limited space and we share the limited wealth of the world. Real freedom can only be posessed by a few at the expense of the majority . A person can only be totally free in the thoughts that they hold inside of them. In the material world, the safety and well being of others will contribute to your own well being . This requires less personal freedom and more morality

(24)
Michal,
February 24, 2013 12:28 PM

Excellent--just one caveat

Thank you so much, Mrs. Rigler, for your sophisticated and inspiring articles. Just one caveat: The article says "A person born with an altruistic nature...will not be rewarded for volunteering weekly at the local hospital." Lest anyone think "I'm not ready to leave my comfort zone so why do anything at all," G-d does not let any good deed go unrewarded just as He does not let any bad deed go unpunished; it's just that good deeds that come naturally get rewarded far less than those for which you have to push yourself. And conversely, a regular person will not get significantly punished for not being a total tzaddik in everything, if that is not within his "choice box" (nekudas habechira). Basically, all we are required to do is keep pushing and advance our choice box as far as it will go, until our very last day. Happy Purim everyone!

(23)
Shaindy,
September 14, 2005 12:00 AM

Extremely Inspiring

Thank you for being inspiring without being preachy! What a beautiful lesson, and how beautifully written!!....Thank You!

(22)
Yoshe,
September 13, 2005 12:00 AM

Thank you Sara Rigler

Brought tears to my eyes and pushed me out of my comfort zone.

(21)
yehoshua halevi spiegelman,
September 12, 2005 12:00 AM

context

what is so valuable about this moving piece is that she communicates how necessary it is for our own lives to make changes. and how those changes, even if small, when we step past our limits, will lead to a more fulfilling live.

(20)
Philipp Hausmann,
September 12, 2005 12:00 AM

Great reading but somewhat confusing consequences.

Great reading. However: irrespective of family and other background of a person, there is no doubt reward for every mitzva done, even if it comes naturally, as described; volunteerly visiting hospitals weekly.

Let us all have a Shana Tova.

(19)
José Antonio Favela,
September 11, 2005 12:00 AM

Very brave indeed

We know you are very aware that many many people don´t have any idea of what they are doing with their lives
this article is full of unselfish and
valuable advice and warnings.

(18)
Glen Priddy,
November 24, 2001 12:00 AM

Very thought provoking

Thank you for your article and the thoughts it presented.

I appreciate your essay.

(17)
Janet Miller,
November 20, 2001 12:00 AM

Thank you again, Sara

for your thought provoking article. This one brought tears to my eyes. Compared, say, to someone who lives without even the freedom to keep an item of prayer, I have but petty problems. The part of this article I could best identify with was the only real choice: "to change and grow".
My Rabbi once said that the scariest Jew he ever met was one who told him that Torah meant the same to him now that it did 10 years ago. I shudder at the thought of being the same dishonest, materialistic, agnostic person I was 10 years ago. I am grateful for the freedom to believe in Gd and change a little bit each day through Jewish teachings. Some things I didn't enjoy 10 years ago, I now do (or at least can tolerate), and some things I did not want to do (like see a country outside of my own home) I would very much like to do. Thank you, Sara, for teaching me what's most important in life.

(16)
Tom Slatton,
November 15, 2001 12:00 AM

Now I understand the comment "you don't know who's blood is redder., Thanks

Thanks, Now I understand the idea of you don't know who's blood is redder.

(15)
Anonymous,
November 14, 2001 12:00 AM

beautiful article

(14)
Anonymous,
November 9, 2001 12:00 AM

Very moving...

This article embodies the principles I hold close to my heart. I hope and believe that more people will become inspired to stretch beyond their "comfort zones" and become greater, intrinsically, now that the world has been granted pause to reflect on what the highest priorities in life should be.
Three cheers for Sara Levinsky Rigler and her very beautiful article!

(13)
,
November 7, 2001 12:00 AM

that was an incredible article, and so very much needed in these times, thank you!

(12)
shoshanna lane/liebman,
November 7, 2001 12:00 AM

thumbs up and away

thank you sara for your clearity your essence shines through your writing gd bless you with this constant ability to tell stories as you truly see them love shoshanna

(11)
A. Millan,
November 6, 2001 12:00 AM

To Excell As A Jew

Sara has reminded me that there are two realms of "choice" in life. First,the political, social arena where, if we live in a democratic country, there is the illusion of "free choice" and physical comfort. Then there is the second arena, or realm, where we can turn our backs on "comfort" and open the doors for our selves to what is right and morally decent. Any one can participate in the former, but it is as Jews that we are to excell in the later. Thank you Sara for this reminder.

(10)
Anonymous,
November 6, 2001 12:00 AM

inspiring, meanungful, lechaim

A very moving, caring, article on the real values of our faith.

(9)
Jane Topp,
November 6, 2001 12:00 AM

Thanks

for sharing that beautiful action of Louis...what a wonderful choice he made that day,"No greater love hath man than to lay down his life for another."

(8)
Anonymous,
November 5, 2001 12:00 AM

Very smart concepts

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this particular article because it has very smart ideas. While I don't agree with every nuance, her basic message is strong and intelligent.

(7)
Anonymous,
November 5, 2001 12:00 AM

sara is awesome

Sara always finds a way to touch ones heart and mind -- she is an exceptional writer and we thank her for using her G-d given talents to help the rest of us see what we might otherwise miss

(6)
Anonymous,
November 5, 2001 12:00 AM

scary article

dear sara
i love your articles but this one got me scared. what great thing have i done lately? i still consider having supper on the table after a hard day's work a heroic act

(5)
Anonymous,
November 5, 2001 12:00 AM

Sara always gently inspires and educates us.

I am so grateful that Sara Rigler's insightful and wise articles are offered on the Aish site. She inspires without "guilting" her audience. Also, as others have already noted, she writes exceptionally well and stylishly; I found this article so very motivating. One last point- while other writers have focused on the terrifying aspect of 9/11 Sara focuses on the heros who emerged on that day. Sara reminds us that they can and must be our role models.

(4)
DonnaK,
November 5, 2001 12:00 AM

Food for thought

Wouldn't this indeed be a much better world if everyone took an extra moment to think about what the "correct moral choice" would be before taking an action or making a decision? I for one, will make the attempt to think more carefully before speaking/deciding/acting...

(3)
Anonymous,
November 5, 2001 12:00 AM

Nobility

An example of human nobility -- in which is clearly seen the difference between "royalty" and NOBILITY. Surely an expression of faith in the omnipresent, omnipotent, deity. The intelligence that designed the human liver; that created atomic structure and solar systems; the intelligence that inspired Shakespeare and Freud, Einstein and Steinmetz,Wasserman and Ehrlich, Salk and Sabin -- and Louis to carry his precious cargo to the very end. Each life is precious, because each life is a part of that deity.

(2)
Cynthia Savell,
November 4, 2001 12:00 AM

It is interesting to read this article at a time when I stopped putting off learning more about my religion and chose to do something about it. At first I wasn't going to sign up due to financial constraints then I swallowed my pride and explained the situation. Lo and behold, they gave me a scholarship to this and whatever other courses I choose until my finances change. I am now positive I made the right choice.

(1)
shmuel hager,
November 4, 2001 12:00 AM

powerful

May we be worthy of reaching above our 'comfort zone' to make the right choices in this temporary world of ours.

I've been striving to get more into spirituality. But it seems that every time I make some progress, I find myself slipping right back to where I started. I'm getting discouraged and feel like a failure. Can you help?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Spiritual slumps are a natural part of spiritual growth. There is a cycle that people go through when at times they feel closer to God and at times more distant. In the words of the Kabbalists, it is "two steps forward and one step back." So although you feel you are slipping, know that this is a natural process. The main thing is to look at your overall progress (over months or years) and be able to see how far you've come!

This is actually God's ingenious way of motivating us further. The sages compare this to teaching a baby how to walk. When the parent is holding on, the baby shrieks with delight and is under the illusion that he knows how to walk. Yet suddenly, when the parent lets go, the child panics, wobbles and may even fall.

At such times when we feel spiritually "down," that is often because God is letting go, giving us the great gift of independence. In some ways, these are the times when we can actually grow the most. For if we can move ourselves just a little bit forward, we truly acquire a level of sanctity that is ours forever.

Here is a practical tool to help pull you out of the doldrums. The Sefer HaChinuch speaks about a great principle in spiritual growth: "The external awakens the internal." This means that although we may not experience immediate feelings of closeness to God, eventually, by continuing to conduct ourselves in such a manner, this physical behavior will have an impact on our spiritual selves and will help us succeed. (A similar idea is discussed by psychologists who say: "Smile and you will feel happy.")

That is the power of Torah commandments. Even if we may not feel like giving charity or praying at this particular moment, by having a "mitzvah" obligation to do so, we are in a framework to become inspired. At that point we can infuse that act of charity or prayer with all the meaning and lift it can provide. But if we'd wait until being inspired, we might be waiting a very long time.

May the Almighty bless you with the clarity to see your progress, and may you do so with joy.

In 1940, a boatload 1,600 Jewish immigrants fleeing Hitler's ovens was denied entry into the port of Haifa; the British deported them to the island of Mauritius. At the time, the British had acceded to Arab demands and restricted Jewish immigration into Palestine. The urgent plight of European Jewry generated an "illegal" immigration movement, but the British were vigilant in denying entry. Some ships, such as the Struma, sunk and their hundreds of passengers killed.

If you seize too much, you are left with nothing. If you take less, you may retain it (Rosh Hashanah 4b).

Sometimes our appetites are insatiable; more accurately, we act as though they were insatiable. The Midrash states that a person may never be satisfied. "If he has one hundred, he wants two hundred. If he gets two hundred, he wants four hundred" (Koheles Rabbah 1:34). How often have we seen people whose insatiable desire for material wealth resulted in their losing everything, much like the gambler whose constant urge to win results in total loss.

People's bodies are finite, and their actual needs are limited. The endless pursuit for more wealth than they can use is nothing more than an elusive belief that they can live forever (Psalms 49:10).

The one part of us which is indeed infinite is our neshamah (soul), which, being of Divine origin, can crave and achieve infinity and eternity, and such craving is characteristic of spiritual growth.

How strange that we tend to give the body much more than it can possibly handle, and the neshamah so much less than it needs!